Nathan Airey Becomes First Gophers Player to Enter Portal After Motzko Firing

The first Gophers men's hockey player to enter the portal following the firing of Bob Motzko is goalie Nathan Airey, according to a report from Eric Vegoe from Gophers Puck Live on Tuesday.

#Gophers goalie Nathan Airey is the first men's hockey player from Minnesota in the portal.https://t.co/fOB3DTGf8J
— Eric Vegoe (@evegoe) March 31, 2026

The Canadian goaltender appeared in 14 games during the 2025-26 season, allowing 38 goals with a .893 save percentage. Minnesota was 3-7-1 with Airey in the net last season. Overall, Airey appeared in 36 career games, allowing 87 total goals in three years with the Gophers.

With Airey's departure, that leaves new Gophers men's hockey coach Brett Larson with potentially just one returning goalie, Luca Di Pasquo. In 2025, Di Pasquo started a majority of the Gophers' games, appearing in 26 games and allowing 79 goals on a .910 save percentage. Zach Weise graduated this year, leaving Larson with a hole on his roster with zero depth at goalie.

Minnesota has a verbal commitment from Carter Casey. The Grand Rapids, Minn. native spent the 2025-26 season in Canada's Western Hockey League with the Medicine Hat Tigers, where he has appeared in 28 games and allowed 79 goals. He has a .882 save percentage this season with a 19-3-4 record. With Airey's exit, Casey is seemingly more likely to join the Gophers this upcoming season.

Before joining the WHL, Casey played for two seasons with his hometown Grand Rapids high school, where he went 20-16-1 over two seasons, allowing 94 goals in 37 appearances. He had a .913 save percentage in 17 games during the 2023-24 season for Grand Rapids and a .912 save percentage in 20 games during the 2024-25 season. In the 2024 Minnesota boys' hockey tournament, Carter made 26 saves in a 5-2 loss to Edina in the Class AA semifinals. In 2025, Grand Rapids was knocked out in the 7AA section semifinals.

The Gophers have a significant amount of current players Larson will look to retain, and plenty of incoming recruits they will hope to keep committed to the program. The transfer portal rules give players plenty of freedom to move around, so Airey is likely the first of many roster moves that involve the Gophers this offseason.